For most of my life I believed that the majority of people went through life without ever experiencing the joy of finding their true soul mate, that one person with whom they could share their love, their dreams and aspirations, and their fears; that one person who would become not only their husband or wife, but their best friend for life. I had that one person in my life for 41 years and when she passed away last year, I thought that was it. I had been one of the lucky ones.
As I began the task of moving on with my life, the days seemed to simply run together and there was nothing to distinguish one from another except the punctuation provided by my job. I am also one of those fortunate individuals who have a job they enjoy and I was surprised to find out that I had some friends there who were keeping an eye on me. As the weekends approached I would dread going home to that empty house on Friday night and so when the phone rang one Friday evening right after I got home, I was surprised and more than a little intimidated to hear Anne’s voice. She wanted to know if I would like to go to dinner somewhere that evening. Anne is not just another employee where I work. She is the area manager, hence the intimidation. Anne had lost her husband more than three years ago and understood what I was going through. We agreed to meet at Zocalo’s in Tecumseh where we enjoyed a nice meal, some small talk, and a lot of silence on my part. After dinner we went our separate ways and I thought that was the end of it.
Weeks passed and then one Friday night she called again. Apparently, someone at work had expressed concern about my state of mind to her, so she was inviting me to dinner again. This time I picked her up at her house and we went to dinner at LaDonna’s after which we rented a movie. Conversation came much easier this time and we had a wonderful evening.
The following Sunday she called to tell me about a program that was going to be on TV, but neither of us suggested watching it together. After hanging up the phone I wondered why I hadn’t suggested it, but it was too late now, or so I told myself. I don’t believe in fate, but it’s funny how things seem to come together as if they were meant to be. Later that afternoon as I was running an errand, we met at a traffic intersection and she motioned for me to follow her home. We unloaded her groceries, watched the program on TV and talked for hours.
Some weeks later I went to Missouri to visit family and when I returned to work, Anne had gone to Nevada for the birth of her first grandchild. As I handled some work issues by e-mail, I copied Anne just to keep her up to speed. I was surprised to receive her response to one e-mail along with a question as to why I had returned to work earlier than planned. Was there more to this question than met the eye? I explained the early return to work and said I looked forward to her return.
The following Saturday I busied myself with things at home until I wore myself out. Around 2 p.m. I sat down on the sofa and wondered if Anne had gotten home yet. I picked up my cell phone and punched in her number. You would think a grown man with five grandchildren could call a woman without behaving like a 14-year-old, but I sat there for at least 15 minutes, afraid to dial the number. When I finally got the courage to call, she didn’t answer, so I left a message suggesting a movie or dinner that evening. The hours passed with no response until a little after nine o’clock. She had been working in the yard all afternoon and hadn’t looked at the phone until just now. It was too late for dinner or a movie, but I wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip away. I suggested we go out for a cup of coffee or a coke. We sat and talked at Denny’s until two in the morning.
The rest is history. We have been married for two months now and I have discovered true love all over again. There’s a song that says something to the effect that, “love is lovelier the second time around.” It’s that and so much more! I love you Anne! Happy Valentines Day!
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For most of my life I believed that the majority of people went through life without ever experiencing the joy of finding their true soul mate, that one person with whom they could share their love, their dreams and aspirations, and their fears; that one person who would become not only their husband or wife, but their best friend for life. I had that one person in my life for 41 years and when she passed away last year, I thought that was it. I had been one of the lucky ones.
As I began the task of moving on with my life, the days seemed to simply run together and there was nothing to distinguish one from another except the punctuation provided by my job. I am also one of those fortunate individuals who have a job they enjoy and I was surprised to find out that I had some friends there who were keeping an eye on me. As the weekends approached I would dread going home to that empty house on Friday night and so when the phone rang one Friday evening right after I got home, I was surprised and more than a little intimidated to hear Anne’s voice. She wanted to know if I would like to go to dinner somewhere that evening. Anne is not just another employee where I work. She is the area manager, hence the intimidation. Anne had lost her husband more than three years ago and understood what I was going through. We agreed to meet at Zocalo’s in Tecumseh where we enjoyed a nice meal, some small talk, and a lot of silence on my part. After dinner we went our separate ways and I thought that was the end of it.
Weeks passed and then one Friday night she called again. Apparently, someone at work had expressed concern about my state of mind to her, so she was inviting me to dinner again. This time I picked her up at her house and we went to dinner at LaDonna’s after which we rented a movie. Conversation came much easier this time and we had a wonderful evening.
The following Sunday she called to tell me about a program that was going to be on TV, but neither of us suggested watching it together. After hanging up the phone I wondered why I hadn’t suggested it, but it was too late now, or so I told myself. I don’t believe in fate, but it’s funny how things seem to come together as if they were meant to be. Later that afternoon as I was running an errand, we met at a traffic intersection and she motioned for me to follow her home. We unloaded her groceries, watched the program on TV and talked for hours.
Some weeks later I went to Missouri to visit family and when I returned to work, Anne had gone to Nevada for the birth of her first grandchild. As I handled some work issues by e-mail, I copied Anne just to keep her up to speed. I was surprised to receive her response to one e-mail along with a question as to why I had returned to work earlier than planned. Was there more to this question than met the eye? I explained the early return to work and said I looked forward to her return.
The following Saturday I busied myself with things at home until I wore myself out. Around 2 p.m. I sat down on the sofa and wondered if Anne had gotten home yet. I picked up my cell phone and punched in her number. You would think a grown man with five grandchildren could call a woman without behaving like a 14-year-old, but I sat there for at least 15 minutes, afraid to dial the number. When I finally got the courage to call, she didn’t answer, so I left a message suggesting a movie or dinner that evening. The hours passed with no response until a little after nine o’clock. She had been working in the yard all afternoon and hadn’t looked at the phone until just now. It was too late for dinner or a movie, but I wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip away. I suggested we go out for a cup of coffee or a coke. We sat and talked at Denny’s until two in the morning.
The rest is history. We have been married for two months now and I have discovered true love all over again. There’s a song that says something to the effect that, “love is lovelier the second time around.” It’s that and so much more! I love you Anne! Happy Valentines Day!
